Bread slice halving device



M. L. HARTMANN' BREAD sLIcE HALVING DEVICE oct. 2s, 1947.

Filed Sept. 17',l 1945 2 Sheets-She'et 1 ne. v|.4

FIG. 4"

INVENTOR 3 w..IHHITMATH#mwmmmmmmmmwmmmmmmwy t m. d m

F u m m Aw. K

M. L. HARTMANN BREAD SLICE HALVING DEVICE Filed sept; 17,1945 :e4 sheets-sheet 2 FIG. 6l.

Frs, sa.

l F I il' rIm V.

I' INVENTOR Patented Oct. 28, 1947 '2,429,756 NBREAD SLICE HALv-ING-.Dliviorz vv r*Miner LfHartmann,v Beverly 'Hills,^Calf. Application .september 17, T1945.. SeriaLNa 616,859

4 Claims. i 'lf'liisinve'r'tion relaltesto. a @bread-Slicer fiorie- "slicing ready-sliced bread.

` 'On'e bloje'c't of the invention-.is .to provide .means "'forholding a "slice 'o'f'bread of ordinaryfthickness so that it may .be .re-sliced to .formthin slices.;

suitable for lthe` making of sandwiches. melba toas't`,and*the like. '.Another objecti's to provide eoje'ctis'tofprovide. a bread 1re-sucer which 'siriipl'e .in .constuct'ion and easily cleaned. Thesea'nd othero'bjec'ts areattained bymy injventitnwhich win `be describedibeiow, reference being .made 'tol'the accompanying Adrawings in fiorini'-A o'i .my re-'slicem Fig'l'f .is aside elevational yView. showingstill vanother`fo1"-r1r1"..oli ,.my. re-Slicer;

Figfis ari-.end elevational.viewpartlyin section'oithe `form of ,my re-slcer. shown inFigH.; H"Fi'gLSl-is a cross-sctionalviewltaken onthe line 9?-09 V1". Fi. 7.

In general ...my res1icer.device consists of an envelope-'like holder YI lf. for, a. slice of' breadY of` the 'ordinaryA tliicllzriess,v which is adapted to ."iit inside a'fcavity rinl a'kniie-giding .casing i2. I.casing 'n.consist-s :of an upright Vnarrow 4compartinent havinga cavity, I3x somewhat larger l"than a conventional 'slice' fbread.. "The casing -is conveniently made :rectangular .ivithnarrow yends fpifurca'teii "to "forni .-thelkifevguidmg .siits I I4, A"vii-iiichi are conveniently..providedwithtapered openings at fthe, top to facilitate the. entry of the "liinifehlad K, the knife-guiding slits f4 extending fronithetopto nearly'lthe y.bottom f the `casing "for a distanceisonewhat..greater than themax- Amuni lheight ofa:coni/entional slice of bread.A A Wi'denedjba'semember 'lli is...provided;. so .thlil the device will `stand upright. vInside Vthe .cavity .13, at the bottomtheref, .in linevwith the knife- A.guiding islits, thereis provided .below the l` "over ends rof the .slits a centering groove .lllwhichfgis adapted. .to centen-the. slioelof .bread containedfn ,the slice Yholder so'thabthe .knife willy bisecttlie slice. Onthe A,inside edges .oil-the knife-,guiding slits i4 are .prox/ Tided-supacing-beads or sprojections i8 whichinay extend r.the full vlength.oitr1e Slits, .or enlyintheupper Iportion, to facilitate the Y,spacingnr .centerineoi Athe `slice ,of .breadjnthe .upper Apart fof A.the .re-slicer, the .beads acting vStop v.means for .the `side ,members of.T the 4.sliice lholder `.l i A.These beads .arespaced1.apartto.` old :the sides of..the,s1ice.hold.er apartlfor a-yvidthgto :accommodate .the :holding of a slice of floread yof .average ,thickness within A the envelope ,no1,der.l`l,.

,'Ijhe envelopejholder .Il l consists of 4, two sheets -oryplates [9.0i .relatively stiff sheetedrmateriai, which may be metal, plastic, .or .otherinateria 1. joined. at the bottoni to forni an -edge. .20 :fitting fin thecentering.grooveH oftthe.A hase 116. The sides L8 Yof the holderiare provided lwithliandle means 2 l extending above thetop 'edge ofthe .,casing. .The .edgesjz of :the .side sheets l I9 -:are .adapted to iitbetweenxthe inside -wall of Lthe caseing andithespacing beads.. I8. 'i

The-envelope holder maybemadeof open metal .either in thenaflorm. ofiv Woven Wire mesh ,for,l. a,s shovyn, `of veigianded metal 1, lacingv having :sharp ,.eolgesfz?,4 which engagejthe surfaces ofthe-slice .off-bread .tn .hold it securely while it is .beingfresliced. `.other sheetmaterialhaving breadsur- Iface.engaging .projectionslsucli asmetal provided with rough-edged `.punchirigs .directed inwardly, 1or jmoulded plastic sheets have :points orv other projections, toengage the Vsides -of the vslice of bread to prevent it from rnovingfduringtiiere slicing may be employed.

together onto the sides of the head slice by the exertion of sufcient pressure to overcome the springiness of the bend.

The handle members 2| are conveniently made integrally with the side' sheets by merely extending them upwardly, or they may be loop arrangements or tabs attached to the side sheets and :arranged to avoid interfering with the insertion of the knife K in the center line of the top edge =of the bread slice.

The operation of my device will be readily understood. The slice of bread of ordinary thickness is placed between the sides of the envelope holder I I which is then inserted in the cavity I3 of the casing and the sides of the holder` are drawn together at the top by the handles 2I until the edges 22 of the side sheets come in contact with the centering beads I8. The knife K is then inserted in the tapered openings I5 of the slits I4 to re-slice the bread slice in the holder, the knife being pressed downwardly with a reciprocating motion in the usual manner of slicing The side sheets of the envelope holder are made, v

stiff enough to allow the secure holding of the slice of bread by means of the protruding'handles 2I but is pliable enough so that additional pressure on the handles will permit holding a slice of bread which is slightly under the thickness determined by the positioning of the beads I8 at the sides of the device. If the slice of bread Ashould be thicker than the average thickness provided for in the placing of the beads I8, then it may be held firmly by the pressureapplied to the protruding handles. l

The casing of my device is conveniently made `by moulding from plastic material, although it may be shaped from sheet metal, by die-casting, or by other methods of forming.

Modications of my preferred structure may .be employed. For example, in Fig. 6 is shown a simple form of my re-slicer which has a similar structure to that shown in Figs. 1 to 3, but modied by the elimination of the handles for the slice holder II, and the provision of a finger slot 25 cut in the side walls of the casing I2 and extending down from the top edge, by which the sides of the holder may be pressed by the ngers :against the sides of the bread slice during the re- ;slicing operation, and then subsequently used for grasping the holder to remove it from the cavity sof the casing I2, and for subsequent removal of the thin .bread slices.

vAnother modification is shown in Figs. '7 to 9. This is somewhat similar to the preferred form of Figs. 1 3, but has pressure plates 28 provided to actv against the sides of the slice holder, to press these against the sidesof the bread slice,

to securelyvhold the bread while being re-sliced.

The pressure plates 28 are actuated by pressure bars 3i] outside the case I2, the pin members 29 connecting them, through corresponding holes in the sides of the casing.

The advantages of my re-slicingdevice are that it will accurately bisect a slice of bread to form the extra thin slices of bread which are so much desired for party sandwiches or for the making of melba toast; it is simple and economical to construct; it is easily kept clean; and is readily provided with a, base wide enough to allow it to stand in an upright position. 'I'he envelope holder permits the removal of the two thin slices from the case, so that they may be removed without breaking or tearing. The structure is adaptable for use in re-slicing bread of varying thickness, within the range of the commonly sold slices of bread.

I claim:

1. A bread slice re-slicer comprising an upright non-opening casing having an open slot in the upper face leading to a cavity larger than a conventional slice of break, knife-guiding slits in the ends of said casing corresponding to the edges of the bread slice, and a centering groove at the bottom of said cavity;` and an envelope-like bread slice holder having two bread-slice-engaging rigid sheets hingedly joined at the bottomto form a ridge coacting with the groove in the casing member to center the holder and its contained slice of bread edgewise between the said slits, means for manually holding the said sheets against the bread slice, and means for manually removing the envelope holder with the re-sliced bread slices.

2. A bread slice re-slicer comprising an upright open-top casing having a. cavity larger than a conventional slice of bread, knife-guiding slits in the ends of the casing corresponding to the edges of the bread slice, spacing beads adjacent the inside edges of said slits, and a centering groove at the bottom of said cavity; and an envelope-like break slice holder having two breadslice-engaging sheets joined at the bottom to form a ridge coacting with the groove in the casing member to center the holder and its contained slice vof bread edgewise between the said slits, the edges of said sheets extending within the cavity to engage the spacing beads adjacent the slits in the casing, and handle means on said rsheets for manually holding the said sheets against the bread slice and for removing the envelope holder with the re-sliced bread slices.

3. A bread slice re-slicer comprising an upright open-top casing having a cavity larger than a conventional slice of bread, knife-guiding slits in the ends of the casing corresponding to the edges of the bread slice, spacing beads adjacent the inside vedges of the said slits, and a centering groove at the bottom of said cavity; and an envelope-like bread slice holder having two breadslice-engaging sheets joined at the bottom to form a ridge coacting with the groove in the casing member to center the holder and its contained slice of bread edgewise between said slits, the edges of said sheets extending within the cavity to engage said spacing beads in the casing, and openings in the sides of said casing through which to manually hold the said sheets against the bread slice. and Vfor taking hold of the envelope holder to remove it with the re-sliced bread slices from said casing.

4. A bread slice re-slicer comprising an upright open-top casing having a cavity larger than a conventional slice of bread, knife-guiding slits in the ends of the casing corresponding to the edges Vof the bread slice, spacing beads adjacent the inside edges adjoining the said slits, and a centering groove at the bottom of said cavity; and an envelope-like bread slice holder having two breadslice-engaging sheets joined at the bottom to 5 form a ridge coasting with the groove in the casing member to center the holder and its contained slice of bread edgewise between said slits, the edges of said sheets extending Within the cavity t0 engage said spacing beads adjacent the slits in the casing, handle means on said holder for removing the holder containing the re-sliced bread slices from the casing, and means for holding the bread-engaging sheets against the bread slice consisting of pressure plates inside the cavity of the casing against the central area of the said sheets, manual pressing bars outside the casing sides, and pin members through holes in the casing sides connecting the said inside pressure plates to the outside pressure bars.

MINER L. HARTMANN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 Number Name Date 2,159,945 Wilson May 23, 1939 2,172,538 Katzinger Sept. 12, 1931 2,206,154 BiXler July 2, 1940 

